Brompton and Sawdon Community Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr John Logue Headteacher Brompton and Sawdon Community Primary School Cayley Lane Brompton by Sawdon Scarborough North Yorkshire YO13 9DL

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Short inspection of Brompton and Sawdon Community Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 5 June 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since your school was judged to be good in March 2014.

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Short inspection of Brompton and Sawdon Community Primary School

Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I have identified some priorities for improvement which I advise the school to address. In light of these priorities, the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection. There is

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

The previous inspection asked you to raise standards in writing and to strengthen leadership and management in the school.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Since the last inspection you have worked closely with a local school. This, alongside good-quality support from the local authority, has helped you to raise achievement in writing. There are now good opportunities for pupils to write at length and use an increasing range of punctuation and vocabulary as they progress through the school. Standards are rising in writing and this is apparent in pupils’ work from Reception to Year 6. The same is true in reading, where you promote reading for pleasure well.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You have had some success developing leadership and management. This is most evident in the impact of leadership on raising achievement in the early years and in writing and reading across the school. However, you agreed that there is still some way to go to ensure that geography, history and science are taught consistently well. Moreover, you agreed that in mathematics the quality of teaching has not been checked often or thoroughly enough. This has led to some weaknesses in how pupils use and apply their mathematics skills to solving problems. In pupils’ mathematics books we could see how pupils are often showing the answers to questions but crucially are not showing how they work out these answers.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Together we looked at your website and you agreed that there are several areas which do not meet statutory requirements. Some essential policies and information for parents are missing from the website. However, I was satisfied that on site your practices are safe, promote equal opportunities and ensure that parents are provided with good information on request.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Pupils’ behaviour is often exemplary. I was impressed with pupils’ good manners and their enthusiasm for school. They have a good understanding of life beyond the small village community through, for example, visits to a mosque and a synagogue. Pupils appreciate the support and care of adults in the school, describing it as a ‘small school with a big heart’.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

The majority of parents who responded to the online questionnaire Parent View would recommend the school to others. Many commented about the dedication of staff and the care they provide for pupils, but also about the variability in the quality of teaching. The staff survey indicated that morale is high and all staff said they were proud to be working at the school and that they were supported well.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are detailed and high quality. You have a strong culture of safeguarding in the school where all staff are well aware of what they must do if they have any concerns. Your procedures for vetting and checking new members of staff are robust.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

The records I saw showed me that you have a proactive approach to safeguarding. You have strengthened security around the school and ensured that traffic at the beginning and end of the day is managed safely. The safeguarding information on your website was out of date when checked. However, the training for staff and policies you use in school are in line with current government guidance.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

The pupils I spoke to understood how to use the internet safely and told me that bullying is unheard of. Your records verify this. Pupils told me that they felt reassured that if they raised concerns these would be promptly dealt with. For example, ‘bubble time’ gives pupils the opportunity to write down concerns so that they can be discussed with their teacher. Parents who responded to the online questionnaire expressed no concerns about bullying or behaviour.

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Inspection findings

 Firstly, I was keen to check on the quality of teaching in the early years. This was because over time, standards in the early years have fluctuated. The renovated outdoor area offers good learning opportunities for children. Most-able children work alongside their older classmates in Year 1 to ensure that they are stretched and challenged. Parents are well engaged with their children’s learning through fun, educational activities to do at home as a family. This results in teaching being strong and children being well prepared for the demands of Year 1.  Secondly, I checked the quality of teaching in other year groups. Standards are rising in key stage 1. You agreed that challenge for most-able pupils was sometimes lacking in all subjects. In some classes there are good opportunities for pupils to use and apply their writing skills in science, history and geography, but you agreed that this is inconsistent. Consequently, the quality of teaching

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Inspection findings

varies between classes and subjects. The pupils I heard reading did so fluently and enjoyed reading for pleasure.  Finally, I was curious to see whether leaders, including governors, were driving improvements well in the school. Governors know the school well and you provide them with high-quality information which they use to challenge and support you. Leaders at all levels have had some strong impact on learning. They promote reading well, for example by displaying pictures of ‘extreme reading’, showing pupils reading in unusual locations. Pupils were keen to tell me how much they enjoyed reading for pleasure. However, you agreed that the impact of leaders’ work is not so apparent in mathematics. This includes staff training, the checking of the quality of teaching and the development of the curriculum in mathematics.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the curriculum in mathematics improves so that: – there are more opportunities for pupils to use their mathematics skills to solve problems – pupils are able to fully explain how they worked out the answers to mathematical problems  the work of leaders has a positive impact on learning by: – checking on the quality of mathematics teaching thoroughly and more often – checking that the teaching of history, geography and science is consistently strong in all classes  most-able pupils are given work that stretches and challenges them in all subjects  the school’s website meets statutory requirements in relation to: the curriculum, information on special educational needs and/or disabilities, accessibility, charging and remissions and the promotion of equal opportunities.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for North Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection I met with you, three members, including the chair, of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. I spoke to six pupils from Year 5 and listened to three Year 3 pupils reading. I spoke to several parents at the beginning of the school day. I visited all three classrooms with you, observing teaching and looking through the work in pupils’ books.

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Information about the inspection

I considered a range of documentation, including the 41 responses to Parent View, the results of the Ofsted staff survey, leaders’ checks of the quality of teaching, school policies, the summary of the school’s self-evaluation and safeguarding documents.

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